“Botched circumcisions killed 30 young men and landed almost 300 more in hospital during traditional initiation rites in a South African province, the health department said Sunday. The 30 deaths in rural Eastern Cape province occurred during the annual season when young males undergo a rite of passage into manhood. Ten other youths were hospitalised after being rescued from a forest on Sunday. ‘The ten initiates’ private parts are rotten. They are badly damaged. Their condition is scary,’ said spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. A further 293 young men were undergoing hospital treatment for dehydration, gangrene and septic wounds. Some had lost their genitals.”
